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MOTIVE Episode Thirteen

Down the hallway from the Senator’s hospital room, nurse Funmi snuck into the toilet adjoining the nurses station. After securing the door, she dialled the number given to her earlier in the day by the senator’s wife’s PA. It rang out, she redialed, and it was answered on the second ring.
“Hello, Mary?” Nurse Funmi asked to confirm whom she was speaking with.
“Who is speaking please?” Mary responded quietly with a question of her own. She was tired, just settling into her hotel room after her boss had been settled in her suite.
“It’s Funmi, nurse Funmi.”
“Oh, ok. What’s up?
“When you people were leaving, the barrister told us a lady will be coming to see the senator. She is here now.” Funmi narrated.
“Who is the woman?”
“I don’t know, the barrister said she is a close friend of the senator.”
“Did you get her name?”
“Yes I did, no one sees the senator without my knowledge.”
“What is her name?”
“Adeola Lasisi. She came with….”
“Ok, I’ll get back to you.” Mary ended the call, cutting her off. She dialled her boss’ number on speed dial. Lady Ada answered on the fourth ring.
“Yes Mary, what is it?”
“Lady, sorry to interrupt you, the nurse just called.”
“What nurse?”
“The senator’s nurse whom you instructed me to make contact with. She said there’s a lady there now to see the senator.”
“Who is this lady?”
“According to Barrister Ateke, whom the nurse said left instructions that she be sent in to the doctor immediately she arrived, she is a ‘friend’.”
“Hmmm.” Lady briggs mused. “A friend, what’s her name?”
“Adeola Lasisi.”
“Very well. You are off for the rest of the night.” She dismissed her, ending the call.
Mary wondered, like she had over the past two years if she worked for the evil witch Cruella de Vil, or just a woman who liked being mysterious.
Lady Ada Ahaba-Briggs was snobbish, standoffish, and every other adjective in between, but Mary had never seen or heard her be truly evil or cruel. She was the one person Mary knew who could berate someone thoroughly without using one foul word, or maybe there were hidden in all those plenty english she used. She had no confidante, and even she as the woman’s PA couldn’t claim to know her secrets.
Whoever this woman was whom Lady Briggs was interested in, she hoped there was nothing underhand going on. Lady Briggs paid well, and she would hate to lose her job.
She sighed, and lay back on the bed. Her boss had given her the night off, and she was about to take advantage of it.

Nurse Funmi was affronted at the way the PA cut her off. She hissed. “All these Abuja people, she probably thinks she’s better than the rest of us. She had better bring me the promised money tomorrow”. She said aloud.
She unlocked the door and returned to the reception. She noticed the man and woman who came with the Adeola woman still seated in the waiting room, which meant she was still in there, she thought to herself. She walked briskly to the hospital room, exchanged pleasantries with the police man at the door and was about to open the door when she heard a voice on the inside. It was the same unfamiliar voice she had heard when the barrister was alone with the senator. Wait a minute, did this mean…? Off course it did, how could she have been so naïve? A patient deceiving a certified nurse of her years of experience. This politico’s sha! They bad pass actors!
She turned, smiled at the police man, and moved closer to him.
“Oga dey inside?” She asked.
“Your oga abi my oga?” He countered.
“Which people dey inside?”
“Doctor and one woman. Enter nau, shebi you be senator private nurse?” He was becoming suspicious of her sudden extreme friendliness.
“No o! As oga dey there, no need. Who be that woman?”
“Ha nurse Funmi? Which kain questioning you dey question me dis nite? Nurses and amebo!”
“As I say make I come chat with you small you no happy? I don go.” She walked away smiling. The senator had regained consciousness, and was faking it! This info should get her more money from his wife. But first she had to see how generous the lady was before feeding her more info. Funmi walked gaily down the aisle to the nurses station.

Ateke’s phone rang, again. If there was a disease to be gotten from constantly being on the phone, surely, he had it already from these past few days.
“Hello senator Duke.” He greeted the senator’s colleague, and one of the other senators from their state.
“My friend Ateke, how are you?” Senator duke was an older gentleman, who spoke slowly. Ateke could imagine him puffing on a cigar as he spoke.
“Good sir, and you.”
“I’m well. How is my friend Tom?” Everybody was senator Duke’s friend.
“He’s good. The doctor says the prognosis is good.”
“Good, good. Any word on the hoodlums who perpetuated this act?”
“Not yet sir.”
“Ok, I trust my friend the commissioner of police in Lagos state. He and I have met a couple of times, a fine man. Knows his job.”
“I’m sure he’ll be happy to hear that sir.” Ateke wondered the purpose of this call, if it were for information?
“Very well, I’ll let you enjoy your evening. Give the old boy my best. I’ve just been served a bowl of steaming fresh fish pepper soup. You know how they do it a’home.” He chuckled.
Ateke chuckled politely. “Enjoy sir.”
“I will, I will. Good night.”
They both ended the call and Ateke placed a call to the senator’s doctor. He answered immediately.
“Hello Ateke.”
“Hello doctor, how did it go, did she come?”
“Yes, I just saw them off. The senator spoke with her.”
“Hmmm. Thank you for your co-operation.”
“It was nothing.”
“I won’t be able to return to the hospital tonight, I hope all is good? Tom is settled?”
“Yes. You rest. So you don’t collapse.”
“True doctor. I’m fatigued.”
“We’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Yea.”
Ateke dialled Tom’s private line, it was switched off. The nurse was probably there. He called room service to order dinner.

The hospital was quiet, all the patients were asleep, there was no emergency. Nurse Funmi caught herself from almost falling off the chair while dozing. The senator was asleep, what would it hurt if she found an empty cot to sleep in?
The night duty police man was asleep, she tiptoed past him. He jerked awake when she shut the door leading out of the VIP wards, and looked around, not seeing what woke him, he concluded it must be his full bladder. As he went to ease himself, a figure in a lab coat eased into the senators’ hospital room.